Clockwork Mansion
by NortheasternWind
Summary: A pair of "heroes" from stories long ended are swept away to a dangerous fortress to fight for their lives- in other words, business as usual. Was it really necessary to take their shirts, too?
1. Delinquent

Oh man, what the heck am I doing, posting this here? This is just a silly little crossover thing I've been writing for a while now, after a funny meme presented me with the basic plot. Yes, it does have a plot, our heroes will not just be wandering around doing nothing, but mostly this was written to be ridiculous and giggly-worthy.

I never intended to post it on FF for several reasons: one, it references a story I haven't completely written yet, which would probably be immensely frustrating to most people. Two, it takes place in a timeline created by another author: in LuckyLadybug's Twilight and Dawn verse. Three... while the main characters are from the fandoms I have this tagged under, two settings are obviously taken from two other fandoms and a few minor characters are from a fifth. I think it's unlikely someone not a friend of mine on LJ would understand any of this...

If you are willing to put up with these things and try anyway, then you should know that the FFVII crew is on Earth, Sephiroth is sane, Denzel recently had a brush with death- which was how he met Ryan- and they're all in YGO's Domino City, which is why Mokuba is around. He, Denzel, Sun and Billy are classmates. As for where the last scene here takes place, try to guess before I reveal it. I've actually got everything up to chapter three written, so I just have to look through them before uploading. I think I'll do chapter two tomorrow...

Only Ryan is mine, and Sun and Billy are LuckyLadybug's. Try to enjoy!

x.x.x.x.x

"Heeeeeeeey! Over here!"

"Who's that yelling?" Mokuba asked, frowning. "It's coming from across the street."

"Heeeey! You with the face!"

"Denzel," Billy pointed. "That's your friend Ryan, isn't it?"

The brunet frowned, then looked in the direction Billy was indicating. Sure enough, his blond partner was standing on the opposite street corner, waving his arms in the air.

"Denzel!"

"What's he doing here?" Sun raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't he have school?"

"He may have skipped today." Denzel sighed. "Wait here, I'll go see what he wants…"

Not wanting a repeat of the circumstances that lead to Denzel's meeting Ryan in the first place, the student poked a head around the front of the bus he'd stepped in front of. The very same white car that had caused his untimely death zoomed by at what must have been an illegal speed, and he sighed. Some people just wouldn't change.

Running out to the other side before he caused an accident, Denzel halted next to his newest friend. "What's up?"

"I faked a cold and got out of school to tell you," Ryan said breathlessly, causing Denzel's eyebrows to fly into his hair.

**Ryan obtained the title of Delinquent! School? School isn't important!**

"You what-"

"Denzel, look!"

An emerald cellphone was practically shoved into Denzel's face, actually forcing him to take a step backwards to avoid falling over. He took the phone and held away from him, so that he could see the contents of the screen more clearly.

_Denzel's phone is always off, so do me a teensy favor and tell him I'll be borrowing one of his guardians at exactly three this Monday afternoon._

_Don't worry, I specifically chose people who are unlikely to allow themselves to die very easily._

_- Joshua_

Denzel paled.

"What the heck is this?" he cried, turning the phone over as though expecting to see an 'April Fools!' note underneath it. "'Borrowing?'"

"School gets out at two forty, so I went home sick and booked it here as fast as possible!"

This didn't sound good at all! 'Borrowing?' Joshua was going to kidnap someone! And he _would_ do it.

Denzel looked at the clock on Ryan's phone. 2:46.

"O-Oh my- You guys!" he called over his shoulder at his other friends. Sun saw, and made her way across the street, beckoning for Mokuba and Billy to follow.

"What's wrong?"

"I have to be home before three, so I'll see you later!"

Mokuba started, taken aback. "What happened?"

"This is a little sudden."

"I know!" Denzel closed Ryan's phone and handed it back to him, before it came up in the conversation and forced him to explain. "There's something I have to tell Cloud."

"Before three?"

"Yeah."

"You better run, then!" Billy exclaimed. "You've got less than fifteen minutes!"

"I know! I'm sorry!" Denzel started in the direction of his house at a full sprint, Ryan right on his heels. "Bye! I'll see you guys later!"

As the strange pair disappeared around a corner, Sun turned to her friends. "We should follow him and see what's going on."

Mokuba blinked. "It's not like you to get involved in other people's business, Sun."

"Yeah, stop dippin'!"

"Haven't you two noticed?" The blond girl crossed her arms, ignoring Billy. "Ever since that near-miss with that stupid white car a month or two ago, Denzel's been acting weird. He suddenly has a Duel Monsters deck full of cards that Mokuba has never heard of before, he's somehow met some kid on the street even though he spends his whole day at school, and every time the two of them get together they talk in low whispers."

Mokuba frowned. He'd noticed, too. Denzel's deck had a running theme- animals with tattoos for limbs, named after genres and concepts in music, or other puns- the crab monster Carcinopunk came to mind- and besides that, Ryan had the same cards. He didn't seem to remember the week after the near-accident very well, and sometimes had to ask what had happened. And that horrible nightmare, about what might have happened if Denzel hadn't managed to get out of the way in time… When Mokuba told Denzel about it, he seemed only mildly surprised. He'd even heard Denzel asking Ryan if he'd had a similar experience, which the blond had answered in the affirmative. That was certainly cause for concern, especially for Mokuba, who knew better than most people that things weren't always as mundane or coincidental as they seemed. Mokuba had begun to wonder if Denzel didn't have his own secrets…

But he did seem happier. Denzel was already the slowest fuse in the group, but now he humored Sun and Billy and seemed just a bit more talkative than he had been before the accident. Mokuba had seen him doodle in his notebook when he was supposed to be taking notes, and the quick drawings were startlingly good. He smiled more, and pointed out small things with no real significance and the small contributions they made to the world they belonged to.

Maybe the accident had given him a renewed interest in life...?

"That_ is _weird." Billy agreed, looking at the spot where Denzel had disappeared. "You think that kid Ryan has something to do with it?"

"You guys..." Mokuba rubbed the back of his head. "Maybe we should stay out of it..."

"Not this time." Sun said adamantly. "Did you see the look on his face? Whatever he's run off for this time, it's bad. I think we at least deserve an explanation if he won't let us help out."

"What if he can't tell us anyway?"

"We're free for the afternoon. We may as well investigate."

"Maybe it's none of our business."

The lone girl rolled her eyes. "Why am _I_ the one that has to convince _you_ guys to get involved in other people's business this time?"

Silence.

"Yeah, that is kinda weird." Billy yielded with a grin.

x.x.x.x.x

_Drip._

_Crash!_

Emerald eyes flew open.

Sephiroth should not be blinking rain out of his eyes, or lying on a hard stone floor, or staring up at a sky painted with tall, ominous thunderclouds- never a good sign. What in the world was he doing here and not at the office in the Jenova Corps. building? Cloud had only left to get a drink of water, and...

The silver-haired man sat upright and pushed himself to his feet. He was standing in a plain and gloomy courtyard, on the single cobblestone path surrounded by plots of shrubbery and trees. It was surrounded by a ten-foot wall broken by a heavy gate- a raised drawbridge. The towers on each of the corners were equally grand and three times as tall. He would not be getting out that way.

That left the other side of the courtyard.

A massive, sinister castle towered into the dark sky before him, its surface shining with the quickly thickening rain. It was nearly as black as the sky it was set against, and only when the lightning flashed could Sephiroth see its outline- tall, menacing and foreboding. It had to be at least half the height of the Empire State Building. His eyes narrowed as they fell upon- or rose to meet, as it were- the castle keep, suspended seemingly in mid air by an unseen force. As if there were any doubt before, now he was certain. This was not your average fortress, and whoever brought him here had not done so with friendly intentions. He could feel the evil seeping out, and with the Jenova cells dormant that was worrying indeed.

As if to add insult to injury, his captor had decided, for whatever reason, to strip Sephiroth of the entire upper half of his outfit: he was completely topless, armed only with the pants he'd been wearing and, thankfully, his usual thigh-length boots. However, with the downpour getting increasingly more violent by the second, Sephiroth would likely be forced to take shelter inside.

He'd not been here two minutes and already things were getting worse.

How in the world did he get here? He did not remember being attacked, or falling asleep, or even pausing in his work. And whoever abducted him would have to have made it into and out of the building completely unnoticed. Cloud would not have had to go more than five feet from the door. The whole thing was impossible.

...Unless Cloud had been attacked as well.

Sephiroth glowered up at the castle. If he had, and he was here, he must be inside. That settled it.

He marched forward, pushing open the double doors and ducking inside.


	2. Butt Monkey

I own nothing. Seriously.

One more chapter and we'll have caught up. Yaaaay.

* * *

...

...

...

_...Hey, this isn't my sleeping bag!_

The eighteen-year-old swordsman bolted upright before his eyes were even fully open. His sleeping bag was missing, his friends were missing, heck, even the woods he'd been sleeping near were missing! He was lying on a white stone slab in a room of... well, white stone walls. He sat up and slid off, looking around. White pillars, white floor, white ceiling... This place was just too white. The only things in the room that weren't white were the pair of tables on either side of the stone slab he'd been lying on, and the stuff on top of them. There were bottles of mysterious-looking liquids, some glowing and others steaming. As well as a few strange, sharp instruments. Lloyd counted his blessings that he'd woken up before someone had the chance to use them on him.

...Or anyone else.

He reached for his swords, intending to use them to knock the dangerous materials to the ground and grind them into dust, only to find that they were missing. And they weren't the only thing, either- his suspenders and red jacket were also gone, leaving him in his thin undershirt.

"Hey, whoever!" he called. He'd been through these things; he was sure 'whoever' would hear him. "Give me my swords back, and come out and face me like a man!"

Nothing.

"What have you done with Genis and Colette?"

Silence.

"Can you hear me?"

Apparently not. Lloyd sighed.

"Coleeeeeeeette! Geniiiiiiiiis!" he called. "Are you guys here?"

His best friends had happily agreed to travel with Lloyd to gather the world's remaining Exspheres, so the three of them were never separated from each other. And that was just how he wanted it. He, Colette and Genis had been through thick and thin for the past eighteen years, and that wasn't about to change now that their biggest adventure was essentially over.

In any case, they'd been camping out a few miles from Gaorrachia Forest- no way they would sleep in there!- and now Lloyd was here.

...

So where was here?

After crashing the tables to the floor with his bare hands- they hurt now, but that didn't matter- Lloyd turned to look for an exit. Ah, there was one! He wouldn't know where he was until he found a window, so he would work on that for now. The teenager strode forward and threw open the door.

And promptly threw it shut again.

This just wasn't his day.

* * *

The door swung shut behind Sephiroth of its own accord. Typical of a haunted castle. Just for good measure, the ex-SOLDIER turned around to check if it was locked- at which point it swung open again. He raised an eyebrow. Perhaps since the drawbridge was up, the master of the castle would not mind if he wanted to go back into the courtyard for whatever reason.

That would be counter-productive and make him very wet, however, so he spun forward to examine the room he was currently standing in.

He did not get much of that done, however, as the room was pitch-black. The only light came from the windows on each side; while they stretched thrice his height from the floor to the ceiling- like most everything else in this place so far- they were only of any use when the lightning flashed. And then, only for a split second.

_Crash!_

From what little he could see, each of the windows was framed by heavy, crimson curtains. One must be open: Sephiroth could hear it crashing against the wall in the distance, and the wind howled through the corridor. It must be a very long hallway, for the sound of the rain to be so muffled.

Unless it was being muffled by magic.

_Crash!_

Gothic, Renaissance decor, if he wasn't mistaken. He could be.

Sephiroth walked down the steps and cautiously into the meager light of the window. Strange- he could see outside perfectly fine, and yet could not see ten feet in front of him. He would walk from window to window, then; there was no telling what could be hiding from the light.

He'd not gone two windows when a step out of the light was met with a menacing growl.

Taking the hint, Sephiroth stepped back into the dim light of the window, attempting to lure the creature where he could see it. The growling followed him as he retreated further and further until on paw, then another, then the half the body of the creature stood silhouetted in the window.

It was an enormous gray wolf with red, bloodthirsty eyes, standing taller than the formidable ex-General. Only half of its face was lighted, somehow managing to make it even more frightening than it already was. The lightning flash again, highlighting its ferocious features before leaving him with only the menacing half-view.

It crouched, continuing to growl threateningly.

Sephiroth's eyes slowly traveled about the room, straining in the darkness. A suit of armor with a sword would be rather useful right about now.

If indeed there was one, he did not find it in time. The creature sprang, giving Sephiroth only a moment to leap out of the way and save himself. It wasn't very smart; it took a few seconds to relocate its prey, giving Sephiroth time to cast another glance about for a suitable weapon.

He did not find one, but there was a pair of candlesticks between each of the windows. Strange, that their light didn't extend a foot past their source.

The giant wolf lunged again, and Sephiroth dived again, rolling back onto his feet and sprinting for the wall. He pulled off a candle and, with a short delay to right his aim, lobbed it at his attacker.

Much to his surprise, the creature burst into flames the moment the decorative candle hit his body. It gave a pained, mournful howl, and then the flames consumed it and rendered it dust with an instant.

Sephiroth knew fur would catch fire easily, but not _that_ easily. The thing must be weak against fire- a good thing to know if he ran across another one. Taking the other candlestick off the wall, he stepped over his adversary's ashes and advanced slowly through the room. Before he'd even reached the next window, the was another growl.

And then, suddenly, the room was bathed in light.

The sound _was_ being muffled: the open window was the very next one, and sound and water poured into the room from the outside. The hall was still very long, however, and to Sephiroth's irritation there were at least three more of the giant wolves.

And then, even more to Sephiroth's irritation, he was suddenly surrounded by a dozen or so zombies.

That was the only word for them. Their skin was rotted and green, their hair white with age, and their clothes ripped and worn. They did not move like zombies, however, and it was all Sephiroth could do to keep from being surrounded.

"...I don't suppose this is some sort of welcoming reception." he said flatly, to no one in particular.

Almost as though in response, the zombies groaned and shrieked.

"I thought not."

Now he knew why he'd been deprived of his coat. It was slightly fireproof, and the ability to run through the disintegrating wolves would be quite useful right now.

He chucked his candle at the wolf- it wasn't as though he needed the light anymore- and contemplated how to take on the undead. They did not give him much time, so in the end he sent his boot through the stomach of one of them. He withdrew it hastily as the thing burst into flames.

_I suppose everything bursts into flames in this castle._

Figuring he had no choice, Sephiroth lashed out with his fists, swiftly withdrawing them to avoid the resulting fire, and dived between his attackers. He had no time to run for a candlestick now, so instead when the next wolf dived he took advantage of its lowered muzzle and used it as a springboard, catapulting himself over it to the other side. Ducking under the assault of the last, he broke for the door at the far end of the corridor, throwing it open and slamming it shut behind him.

And getting a face full of bats.

Obviously someone hated him.

**Sephiroth obtained the title of Butt Monkey! The title for the one who gets tough luck everywhere.**

* * *

"I can't believe this-"

"I know!"

"It's like he _wants_-"

"_I know!_"

The previously partnered pair fell silent. They'd arrived home just in time to pick up Cloud's alarmed call from the office, and were now standing on Denzel's front porch in frustration.

"What the heck does he need someone like Sephiroth for?" Denzel asked, exasperated. "He can do all his shady work himself, and would be less likely to get caught..."

"Maybe he's just bored." Ryan shrugged. "He'd probably kidnap someone and make us look for him just for fun."

"But why would he choose some "unlikely to allow themselves to die very easily?'"

That made the pair fall silent.

"...I hope he didn't poison him." Ryan said suddenly, sounding worried. He didn't think Joshua would ever do anything to really put someone else's existence at risk, but it sounded like something he would do.

Denzel leaned against the wall and sighed. "I hope not, either."

The blond crossed his arms. "Well, that's an improvement."

The brunet rolled his eyes. "I never wanted him dead! I'd just rather stay away from him."

"It's still an improvement. And you're lucky your friends are coming up the street." he said, pointing. "Or I'd probably bug you to improve further."

Ignoring Ryan's last comment, Denzel leaned forward to look over his shoulder. Mokuba, Sun and Billy _were_ coming up the street, their pace increasing to a jog once they saw that the two friends were rather unemployed on the porch. Denzel's eyes widened as he stepped out to meet them on the path.

"You guys!"

"What happened?" Mokuba asked, coming to a halt before him. "You looked really upset when you left!"

"Yeah, it was kinda sudden."

"Well..."

"Message for Cloud?" Sun guessed. "But I'd have to ask why they sent it to your friend over there and not directly to him."

The brunet started and looked back over his shoulder; he hadn't realized that Ryan had not joined him on the walkway. The blond merely shrugged, figuring he had no place in Denzel's original circle of friends. Denzel turned back around.

"No, it wasn't for Cloud." he corrected. "It was actually for me. My phone is always off..."

"Yeah, that's kinda annoying." Billy agreed. "You should turn it on weekends, at least."

"Yeah, I'll do that. Anyway, I just thought Cloud should know about it."

Sun raised an eyebrow. "Is it something... personal?"

He rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah. Kinda."

Awkward silence.

"Sephiroth is missing." Ryan announced from the porch. Four students jumped and turned in his direction.

"Ryan?"

"What?" Mokuba asked, alarmed. "Really?"

"Again?"

"Ugh, Billy..." Sun looked up at Ryan, brow furrowed. "But that can't be what the message was about...?"

There were a few moments of even more awkward silence.

Denzel sighed. "The kidnapper is a really weird guy..."


	3. Captain Obvious

Aaaaand we're all caught up now! This was written in a bit of a hurry because I seriously needed to get a move on, and so is not as well-written as the other two chapters, but Lloyd and Sephiroth are in the same place now and things will actually start happening.

Have you guessed where they are yet? No? You might not know of it in the first place...

Ryan is mine, Sun and Billy are LuckyLadybug's, and everyone else belongs to... someone else. You probably know already.

* * *

Lloyd had seen plenty of armed, animated skeletons- the Temple of Darkness had been filled with them, and he wasn't even going to get into Derris-Kharlan- but never wandering around like this. They'd always jumped out at him and his friends from hiding places, or materialized from thin air. The next room was filled with them.

"Now would be a nice time to have a weapon..."

But he could just pull one off one of the skeletons, really. The important thing right now was to find out where he was, and then find Genis and Colette. Genis might not be able to cast without his kendama, and even though Colette was an angel she was bound to get hurt sometime. As long as he had his exsphere, he'd be fine.

His hand drifted to the spot where it should have been, but it was-

"Gone?"

What? Gone? It couldn't be gone! It had transformed into a Cruxis Crystal after he'd defeated Mithos. You can't take Cruxis Crystals off! He needed it! How had it come off? His mother's soul was inside that thing, and he promised Kratos-!

The brunet spun on his heel to look at the mess he'd created behind him earlier. Great. It had to be in there, and he wouldn't stop searching until he found it.

"Why do I always give myself more work to do?"

Praying that the monsters outside would not hear the noise, Lloyd began to shift through the rubble, lifting the toppled table aside and scanning the floor for the precious stone. He didn't dare touch the mysterious liquid, but he didn't need to: the exsphere would be visible under it.

Unless it had burned away?

"Ah, man, this can't be happening..." The youth sighed, running a hand through his hair. This was a disaster. It wasn't only that he didn't have an exsphere- he could just grab another one when he got back- but his mother wouldn't get her peace until he destroyed his. There was no way he was leaving this place without finding it.

Behind him, there was a sound of something shattering.

Lloyd started. What was that noise? Didn't sound like glass.

The thud of hurried footsteps could be heard above the rattle of bones, and Lloyd almost winced as the screech of rusted metal met his ears. He _did_ wince when the sound changed to a _crunch_, and after a short second of swift footfalls there was another shattering sound. There was someone out there, and they were making short work of the undead.

The noise of battle continued for a few moments more, until silence fell over the next room entirely. The footsteps resumed momentarily, making their way towards-

"Crap."

Well, it wasn't as though there were another way to go. In the very short time Lloyd had seen through the door, he could only see a long, empty hallway, other than for the skeletons. If someone had come through the door on the other side, this room was probably their destination.

Lloyd stumbled back to the debris, scanning it for something he could defend himself with. He probably could have thrown one of the bottles if he hadn't broken them all. Dammit. The footsteps were getting closer, so the swordsman settled for hopping behind the upturned table and resting his foot on the rim, ready to kick it and make his escape at a moment's notice.

Instead of swinging open as Lloyd had somewhat expected it to, whoever was on the other side pushed it open carefully; it was a tall man, with long silver hair. Pretty intimidating-looking, but as usual Lloyd was hardly afraid.

"Uh... hey."

The man raised an eyebrow, opening the door the rest of the way and stepping through without closing it. He was shirtless, and carrying a rusty broadsword in his left hand. "I wasn't expecting to run into anyone else here."

Lloyd grinned sheepishly. "I just woke up, so I haven't been expecting anything at all."

The older man lifted his gaze to the room behind Lloyd, causing the Eternal Swordsman to cast a look over his shoulder as well. The room was as trashed as it had been two seconds ago, and a silent second was spent surveying the damage before they looked back at each other.

"I thought some of that stuff looked dangerous..." Lloyd explained.

"I can hardly disagree." The man cast one more look at the mess behind Lloyd, furrowing his brow as though remembering something best left forgotten, before continuing. "I assume you've no idea why you're here."

"Nope."

"Or where here is?"

Taken aback, Lloyd frowned. "I thought you knew."

"I was dumped in the courtyard, but the walls were too high." He sniffed. "And none of the windows give a clear view of the building's surroundings."

"I guess that's because it's raining?" the dual-swordsman asked, noticing how wet the other's hair appeared.

He scowled. "Yes. It's raining."

"Great."

So right now, Lloyd was in a haunted... building, castle, he didn't know yet, located who knows where, without a weapon or even a proper shirt. And it was raining. Today wasn't looking so good.

He eyed the broadsword in the taller man's hand. "They didn't take your weapon?"

"I wasn't carrying one in the first place. One of the more animated zombies outside dropped this." He looked down at it unhappily. "If it were my choice, I would not be using such a dull, decrepit blade."

"...You took all those skeletons out with that rusty old thing?"

"With difficulty."

"...You're pretty good."

The man grunted. "If you know how to use a sword, you should go pull one off the skeletons I just defeated." He spun around, silver hair swishing behind him. "Come on."

He left first, but Lloyd hurried past him into the silent corridor. Now that he had found someone who seemed to be friendly enough, he didn't want to be caught alone in this place- especially without a weapon. Or armor, which would probably be much harder to find than a weapon. He could take any old blade from an enemy, but nothing could make Lloyd wear something he'd taken from a zombie.

"Do you have a name?" the man asked, watching Lloyd pry a falchion out of a bony hand. "You never mentioned it."

"Of course I-"

The entire hand came off, causing Lloyd to throw it down with a yelp.

"Of course I have a name." he continued irritably, picking up the one-sided blade and shaking the hand off. "Lloyd Irving. And your name is...?"

"Sephiroth."

"Huh. Weird name." Lloyd stomped on the wrist of another undead soldier, then relieved it of its weapon. "Nice meeting you."

"Equally. Now..."

Sephiroth waited for Lloyd to finish adjusting the scabbards for his new weapons on his belt. "This place is infested with monsters." he began, catching the brunet's attention once more. "And the rooms that aren't usually have some other sort of gruesome content."

Which was why he was not planning on ever taking Lloyd back to the entrance if he could help it. He'd come across the inner courtyard after a few rooms of giant wolves and zombies, guarded from the rain by an awning but far from pleasant: if Sephiroth had believed the story of Vlad the Impaler's human forest impossible before, that was certainly not what he thought now.

"This building..." Lloyd cast a wary glance around the room, eyes eventually settling on the candle stuck to the wall nearest them. It flickered without the aid of wind. "The whole thing feels kinda... alive."

Sephiroth nodded in agreement, focusing on the same candle. As though sensing their suspicion, it crackled more violently. "Malevolent architecture. Let's be careful."

"Yeah..."

Sephiroth turned from the door he'd come through and reached for the door to the room Lloyd had awakened in. "There's no where else to go from here, so let's see if there's a hidden passage in here. We might be able to move that stone slab..."

"Oh, I hadn't thought of that." Lloyd jogged to Sephiroth's side as he turned the knob. "You mean there might be a staircase below it?"

"Possibly."

"I'd rather not go to the baseme-"

The door swung open, leaving both swordsmen to stare at the contents behind it in silence.

"...Yep, this place is alive." Lloyd concluded, frowning at the marble hallway that was not there before.

**Lloyd obtained the title of Captain Obvious! Of course the castle is alive, genius.**

* * *

"...So there's this kid named Joshua."

"Yeah."

"And he's got... mafia people, or something."

"Yeah, pretty much."

"And his mafia people are the ones who abducted Sephiroth."

"Well, no-"

"Yeah."

...Well, Denzel's friends were all wearing disbelieving looks, but that seemed to be more because the situation had gone from 'Denzel's in a hurry' to 'one of Denzel's guardians was abducted by a crazy kid with mafia connections' as opposed to because they didn't believe him. He hated to lie to them and had done his very best to tell the truth, though of course the Reaper's Game had to stay a secret. No use hiding anything else, though...

"...Denzel, why do you have mafia connections?"

The brunet jumped. "Uh?"

"_They_ contacted _him_." Ryan came to his rescue. "You know, living with the Jenova Corps people and all."

Mokuba nodded thoughtfully, thankfully taking Ryan's quick bluff. "Yeah, that makes sense. The same thing used to happen to Seto and I a lot."

Sun frowned. "So, you met this kid Joshua on the street, and he told his... 'mafia people' you lived with the people who run Jenova Corps."

"That's..." The brunet rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, that's the extremely abbreviated version of it."

"He's not a... _bad_ person." Ryan said carefully. "He's just obnoxious and has a tendency not to care."

"I dunno, that sounds like a bad person to me."

"Wait, hold up." Billy crossed his arms. "Don't we have bigger problems to deal with? Like, where the heck is he hiding?"

Ryan snorted. "He isn't. He lives in Japan, so he's probably back there right now. Where he's put Sephiroth is anyone's guess, though."

"Man, what an arrogant snob."

"Tell me about it."

Sun sighed. "Look, just text him back and see if he replies. We can start with that."

"It doesn't sound like he'd be much help..." Mokuba pointed out, causing Ryan to shrug.

"Best lead we got."

He pulled his cellphone out again, flipping it open and scrolling to the brazen message.

"...Yeah, it's from a Japanese cellphone." he announced, thumbing his way through the options. "If he doesn't answer though, you're paying the long distance fee."

Denzel snorted. "I'm not worried."

* * *

_BEEPBEEP._

A mop of spiky brown hair gave an irritable twitch under the thick covers. Ugh... Beat _would_ text Neku at eight o' clock in the morning on a Saturday. He was probably so excited he'd already dressed for the weekend, and upon realizing he had nothing to do had resorted to messaging Neku to come over. He'd kept his rough, endless drive after the end of that month-long Game in which he'd met Neku, surprising his parents who'd become used to the ambition-less, drive-less Beat who'd all but given up on himself, and while that was certainly an improvement it meant his sister and friends had to keep up with him, and put up with his tough-guy attitude, his relative lack of brains, his tendency to sleep in horribly late...

Wait.

Neku threw the covers off and reached over to the bedside table. Beat was probably still asleep, which meant the message was from someone else. Shiki? Did she need something? Neku had better see what it was right now, just in case...

He flipped the phone open; and spent a second blinking away the pain from the sudden light. One new message, yeah, he knew that already. Get to it. The thing took an unusually long time to load, after which...

"...Oh, well that's just great."

From some kid in America. Writing in English. Ugh... How the heck did this guy get Neku's number? The former Player frowned, scanning the message. Some words he knew... 'Hello,' of course, a few contractions and article words, and-

His eyes widened.

'Joshua.'

Throwing his blue phone shut and open again, Neku hit number five and punched the call button, waiting anxiously for the answer.

_Click._

"Good morning, Neku." Beat's sister Rhyme said pleasantly. "Beat's still asleep."

"Big shock. Hey, Rhyme... You know some English, right?"


End file.
